Legge crashes on F1 testing debut
Discussion
GarrettMacD said:
I would assume, often a dangerous thing to do, that a test driver would be able to lap at a decent pace.
The fact that two drivers got the car around the track three seconds faster either shows that he is ineffectual as a test driver, or indeed was not up to speed.
Three seconds is a long time, and surely if Cannock was getting anything near the potential out of the car, even Shumi or Alonso would have found it well nigh impossible to go three seconds faster.
I'm not knocking anyone here.
This is a strange because Nissany (or Stirling Mossad, as is his nickname) is not a true 'test driver' in the sense of say, Franck Montagny at Renault.
Nissany is about 44 years old, and has been racing since about 2002. He made a lot of money as a businessman, and his role of a 'tester' could more accurately be described as someone who is fulfulling his dream. The money he brought to Minardi last year was literally the difference between them completing the season, or going bust, but he is not to be taken as the benchmark driver in the Minardi, not by any means. That's not knocking him, the guy has my ultimate respect for at least keeping the team afloat via his $$$,$$$,$$$'s, but if any of the other drivers being tested were slower than Nissany I think there would have been serious questions asked!!!
Just my 2p worth...
Okay. That explains things much better. A regular test drivr, he is not!
Chanoch is simply fulfilling a dream. Katherine Legge is a racing driver. He's been consistently well off the pace but did attract some decent column inches both in the UK and Israel.
Whilst the Minardi is certainly not honed as well as a McLaren, I've watched it test and race at Silverstone this year and it is certainly much less of a handful than the evil Jordan which bucks like a broncho through Becketts and Maggots and uses more traction control than anything this side of a Williams (yes, really) at the Complex.
FWIW and IMHO, if you haven't spun a car, you haven't been trying hard enough - Mind you, I'd always make sure I spin the car on my last lap, rather than my first!
Tests of this sort don't really prove anything - they're to raise revenue, profile or a contractual obligation. To be honest, it's almost impossible to rank even "professional" test drivers - one never knows what variables are affecting their performance - tyres, fuel load, engine, aero etc etc....for example...
...Williams set great store in Jungle Boy's ability based on his test performance (let's forget the Steve Cropley offroad experience in the S type-R!) and yet he hasn't delivered with any great conviction in race situations has he?...Wurz is about the best bet to translate test results into race results IMHO (and yes, that includes Ant Davidson).
Whilst the Minardi is certainly not honed as well as a McLaren, I've watched it test and race at Silverstone this year and it is certainly much less of a handful than the evil Jordan which bucks like a broncho through Becketts and Maggots and uses more traction control than anything this side of a Williams (yes, really) at the Complex.
FWIW and IMHO, if you haven't spun a car, you haven't been trying hard enough - Mind you, I'd always make sure I spin the car on my last lap, rather than my first!
Tests of this sort don't really prove anything - they're to raise revenue, profile or a contractual obligation. To be honest, it's almost impossible to rank even "professional" test drivers - one never knows what variables are affecting their performance - tyres, fuel load, engine, aero etc etc....for example...
...Williams set great store in Jungle Boy's ability based on his test performance (let's forget the Steve Cropley offroad experience in the S type-R!) and yet he hasn't delivered with any great conviction in race situations has he?...Wurz is about the best bet to translate test results into race results IMHO (and yes, that includes Ant Davidson).
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